Cote d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara’s government faced collapse on Friday after his junior coalition partner said it had expelled party members named to a new cabinet.
Ouattara reshuffled his cabinet last week because of a row between his RDR party and the PDCI party of former President Henri Konan Bedie.
The changes went against the wishes of Bedie, who had warned party members in a letter seen by the media not to take part in the new government.
“I ask all PDCI party members to not associate with this event, or participate,” Bedie said in the letter dated July 13, referring to a meeting of the new government.
On June 16, 2018, over 600 PDCI executive members resolved to postpone merger talks with RDR until after the 2020 presidential election, Radio France International, RFI had reported.
The political bureau members said it was PDCI’s turn to field a candidate in the next presidential poll after supporting RDR’s Alassane Ouattara in 2010 and 2015. After six hours of discussions, PDCI executive members approved the deal to merge PDCI with RDR and other smaller parties, but did not fix any party congress this year to seal the agreement before elections in 2020.
“The political bureau decides to postpone the 13th PDCI/RDA congress until after the 2020 presidential election. The political bureau reassures party members and supporters of the party’s determination to reconquer power in 2020,” N’Dri Kouadio Narcisse, PDCI spokesman told the press.
“The question of party merger will be discussed after PDCI takes over power in 2020 and we are so happy with the decision,” commented a young party supporter.
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Observers say the PDCI’s sudden change of mind is a response to a statement earlier this month by President Alassane Ouattara. In an interview with French language weekly, Jeune Afrique on June 3, 2018, Ouattara said he was free to stand for a third term in 2020 under the new constitution.
“I will only make a definite decision then, based on the situation in Ivory Coast. Stability and peace come before all else, including my principles,” he said.
Emerging developments may aggravate the perennially volatile politics of Cote d’Ivoire , where a tenuous stability has held since a brief civil war in 2010-11 that killed 3,000 people.